Twilight's Doors
by Wilona Riva
Summary: Danny spies on a girl reading a book under a tree. One of the Moirae has become mortal. How are these two connected?
1. Sam

Twilight's Doors

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

* * *

**Sam**

* * *

Below him, the girl was sitting in the shade of his tree reading a book. To his eyes, she was beautiful. Her hair was black as night, her eyes the color of twilight. She was different from most of the human girls he'd seen around this place. And he liked that a lot.

What was it about this girl that he was so obsessed with her? She was a human; he was a ghost. They could never be together.

"Hey, Phantom!"

He turned his head and then smiled as he saw the speaker. "Hi, sis!"

Twirling a strand of fiery aqua hair, Ember contemplated the mortal girl who'd captured her brother's heart. "So go and say 'hello', dipstick. She deserves at least that much."

The girl paused in reading and looked around. She could hear voices discussing her, but seeing no one, she went back to reading.

Phantom's dark eyebrows rose to hide in his long ivory bangs. His glowing emerald gaze fell on the human flipping through the pages of the leather-bound tome she was reading. "She's going to be like all the rest, running and screaming as soon as she sees me."

"Your special ability," Ember reminded him. "You made a friend with that Robin Hood kid last week."

"Tucker?" Phantom's voice echoed suspiciously. "He doesn't know what I really am. So long as he doesn't actually go there, the hunters won't suspect I'm borrowing their name either."

"Babypop, if you don't get your ghostly butt down there and talk to her, I'm telling Dad," she threatened.

Phantom shivered. Lord Hades was not someone you wanted to deal with on his off -or on-days.

"Could you two keep it down, please!" the girl called upwards, now convinced there were kids up in the tree trying to scare her.

"It's now or Dad, dipstick," Ember whispered, disappearing. "I'll be watching to see how you do."

The girl closed her book and stretched her legs. The shadows were lengthening, telling her it was time to start heading home. The sun would be setting in an hour or two. She blinked as a boy with dark hair and light blue eyes sat down beside her.

"I'm Danny Ph-Fenton," he blushed, catching his slip. Hopefully, the hunters would never find out he was borrowing their name again.

"Was that you arguing with a girl up there?" she asked, jabbing a thumb at the tree. "I couldn't hear what you were saying, but you were awfully loud."

"Just my sister," Danny told her. "She's been pestering me all week about finding the time to introduce myself."

The girl laughed. "What are you, a stalker?"

Danny blushed. "Just an obsessed hormonal teenage male," he replied.

That brought forth more peals of laughter from the girl. "My name is Samantha Manson, but call me anything but Sam and I'll kill you."

"Already a ghost," he pleaded, a twinkle in his eyes.

Sam laughed a lot, he noticed. He loved that about her.

Ember appeared, racing across the park towards them. "Fentons!" she shouted, shooting him a panicked look.

Sam watched as the easy-natured boy transformed in front of her into something wild and fierce. "See you tomorrow after school?" he asked, seeing the hunters getting closer.

"Meet me at the Nasty Burger," she told him. "I'm bringing a friend."

"Tomorrow it is," he said, tearing off running across the grass, the hounds of Hell snapping at his heels.

Was it her imagination, or had his blue eyes flashed an eerie glowing green just now?

* * *

**And no, he didn't actually transform into Phantom in front of her. I just meant his fight or flight instincts kicked in.**


	2. Ivory and Horn

Twilight's Doors

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or anything from Greek Mythology, except my own imagination.

* * *

**Ivory and Horn**

* * *

_Asphodel flowers. In fact, a whole meadow of them._

_"Too much yellow," she mumbled, moving about the plain. She saw people from all walks of life. They didn't seem to be happy or sad. None were in pain, or so it seemed. She desperately sought a face amongst the sea of people, but found no one she knew._

_A pathway veered to her right toward a grove of pomegranate trees, over a bridge of ivory and horn, on an island between two rivers._

_Otherworldly music called to her from within._

She jammed the pillow back over her head, as her parents yanked the dark, heavy curtains back, allowing in the bright morning sunlight. She glared at her parents. " I hate you people!"

Pamela plastered on a fake smile and began the next unpleasant task. "Look what I bought you at the mall today, Sammykins."

"I'll be right back," Sam said, grabbing her cell phone and running for the bathroom.

_A boy threw a bright green discus off into the nearby woods. A large dog appeared, glowing red eyes lighting up with joy._

_His blue eyes met her violet ones. "Sam? How did you get past the bridge?" Danny asked her in surprise._

_"Danny? What? Where?" And what the heck was he wearing?_

_"Apherephos!" a man's deep voice called from without._

_"Crud, it's my father," Danny hissed in fear. His garment was a royal blue chiton, tied off at the shoulder with a golden gordian knot. It settled in folds above his knees and was held shut by a wide golden belt. The royal blue set off his eyes, while it was his golden arm bands glittering with alternating jade and sapphire gems that caught her eye._

_"Sam, go quickly!" Danny gave her a searing look that melted her insides._

_"Apherephos!" the man's voice called out one more._

* * *

"So your parents broke into a wild dream you had about a sexy Greek god?" Tucker asked her, as they waited in line to buy their usual-for Sam, a tofu soy melt, and for Tucker, the greasiest thing they had, the Quadruple Nasty. Sam also ordered an extra basket of fries and a soda, not sure if Danny liked them.

"Over here, Danny!" Sam called, waving to someone outside Tucker's peripheral vision.

Tucker turned and burst out laughing. "Hi, Danny! How's the dog training going?"

"Hi, Tuck. Hi, Sam," the blue-eyed devil sat down opposite them. Sam passed him the fry basket and the soda. He stared down at them. "Uh, what are these?" he asked.

"Modern junk food," Tucker said, inhaling his burger. Sam and Danny gagged.

"So do you eat meat?" came the sly question from the carnivore across the table.

"Not really," Danny replied, inspecting the fries. He looked up into Sam's puzzled stare. "Sorry about being late. My father is restricting me to the Asphodel Meadows for the next few days. Turns out, Cujo, our ghostly guard dog managed to sneak out again. Technically, I'm supposed to be out looking for him."

"You have a ghost guard dog?" a high-pitched girl's voice squealed. "You have to come with me!"

Danny barely had time to register a girl with long red hair and turquoise eyes before she grabbed his arm and yanked him towards the door. "Guys, help!" he yelled.

"Jazz Fenton, let your brother go," Tucker told her.

The red-head promptly dropped him and swung around, shocked to say the least. "I don't have a brother," she said.

"Uh, hello," Sam replied. "Danny Fenton meet Jazz Fenton. She is your sister, right? The one who was trying to scare us the other day when your parents showed up, guns blazing."

Danny shook his head. "Uh, no. Guys, there's something I need to tell you." A wisp of blue air left his mouth, just before...

"GHOST!"

"Danny, run!" Jazz yelled, yanking him backwards, just as a skeletal parrot came sailing into the room.

"You haven't seen Ganax have you, Apherephos?" it squawked.

Danny glared at the bird. "How many times do I have to tell you," he hissed in the Olympian tongue. "You're supposed to call me Danny when we're in the human world."

"Maybe I should tell your father that you're not really out looking for the dog, _Apherephos!_Where is your brother?" The bird's eye sockets widened when it saw Sam. "Apherephos! It's the girl from last night-the one who crossed the bridge."

"Uh, Danny, how do you know that ghost and why is it looking at me like I'm its next meal?" Sam asked, backing up a bit further.

"Yeah, dude, and why is it calling you 'Apherephos'?" Tucker asked. "What the heck language were you talking in any way?"

"Ancient Olympian," Danny replied.

"Sounded like Greek to me," Tucker said.

"I should have guessed you weren't really out looking for the dog," a man's deep voice resounded, as he picked his way through the throng of customers towards them.

"Hello, my lord," Danny said, bowing his head respectfully.

"Uh, who are you?" Jazz asked the stranger.

The stranger wore a white shirt, black trench coat, black biker boots, and really tight black leather pants. He had long, waist-length black hair and eyes a shade darker than Danny's own. He bowed low to the girl. "Because you are the daughter of one of my human allies, I will answer your question, girl. My name is Hades..."

"Hades Fenton," Danny broke in. " A top-notch ghost hunter who is the only person the ghosts will obey. They don't call him the "God of the Underworld" for nothing. He's also my father."

"Not all, Apherephos," his father chided. "I know one ghost who was restricted to his grove for a fortnight, if memory serves me correctly. And don't give me that tired old excuse of Cujo getting loose. He's curled up with his squeaky toy on your mother's lap."

"I'm really looking for Ganax?" Danny's excuse came out more of a question than a statement.

Hades sighed. "When you find him, come home. We'll discuss your punishment then." He turned and strode out the door. "Khoremne is out looking for him as well. By sunset, be home," he called out over his shoulder.

Danny waited five minutes. "Alright, Youngblood, he's gone."

"Good," the pint-sized ghost kid, dressed like a pirate captain, said, popping his head through the table. "At least he's not calling out the Aphanes after her," he said, indicating Sam.

"What are you doing here?" Danny asked, hands on hips. "We have to find Ember and..."

"No need, dipstick," another ghost joined them in the now deserted restaurant. This one was the girl Sam had seen running across the park yesterday.

"Who's we? And what the heck is going on?" Sam asked, ready to tear her hair out in frustration.

"I'm Youngblood Fenton-his little brother's ghost," Youngblood answered, puffing out his chest in pride. "This is Ember Fenton, our big sister. She tells us what to do. She's a ghost too. Why do I have to tell these humans this?" he asked his siblings.

Danny sighed. "Introductions are important."

"Yeah, squirt," Ember grinned. "Use common sense for once."

"Can we go somewhere in private, where we can speak?" Danny asked Jazz.

"My parents' secret lab," she suggested.

"Maybe not such a good idea, Khoremne," Youngblood said, taking his sister's hand.

"They have a working ghost portal," Ember whispered. "One of the shades told me."

"I'm game!" Youngblood said, his face brightening.

* * *

**Author's Note: Names below are used interchangeably throughout the story.**

**Ganax - "ganos" (bright) and anax (king) - Youngblood**

**Apherephos- "apher" (to take away) and "phos" (light) - Danny**

**Khoremne- "khoros" (dance) and "mne" (memory) - Ember**

**Aphanes means "unseen".**


	3. Fate's Thread

Twilight's Doors

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or anything from Greek Mythology, except my own imagination.

* * *

**Fate's Thread**

* * *

"Wow, this place is cool!" Youngblood exclaimed, zooming over to a couple of glowing rainbow-hued beakers. "What are these, Khoremne?"

"It's Ember, dipstick, and I have no clue. Ask the genius mortal," Ember replied, yawning. "Danny, we've got the squirt; it's time to go home."

Danny's blue eyes flashed green; Sam was sure it wasn't just a trick of the light.

"Okay," Tucker replied, pulling up a chair. "Let's get down to the brass tacks. Who are you guys and how are you and that creep back there related, Danny?"

"That 'creep' back there was our father," Danny replied. "We'r originally from Greece, but Mom likes to travel, so Dad tries to stay on her good side or Grandmother Demeter will give him an earful. We only get to see her six months out of the year as it is."

"Yeah," Youngblood murmured, floating down to join them. "Dad is always busy talking with dead people, so we don't get to get out much."

"Which explains why the dog always get loose," Ember teased.

Danny and Youngblood actually blushed.

Sam laughed. "A guilty pair if I ever saw one."

Jazz grinned. "Boys will be boys."

Danny's eyes thoughtfully travelled around the lab, blue turning slightly emerald as they focused on the large octagonal chamber partially crammed in the far wall, next to an ancient computer monitor.

"That's the disturbance I felt," he murmured.

* * *

_"The child between the worlds has found Khlotho," Lachesis murmured, examining the six glowing strands in her hands._

_"Khlotho chose to be reborn as a human," Atropos reminded her. "We agreed not to interfere."_

_"The Moirae are always three," Lachesis argued._

_"We promised not to interfere," Atropos said sharply._

_"Only until she spins the first thread," Lachesis murmured in agreement. "That is what we promised."_

* * *

"Sam, you zoned out for a moment," Jazz said, waving a hand in front of the girl's violet eyes.

"Sorry," the goth girl replied, shaking her head. "I thought I heard voices for a moment."

Jazz frowned. "So if you guys just moved here from Greece, how do you know Sam and Tucker already? Doesn't your Dad find it weird that two of his three kids are ghosts? Why do you have the same last name as me? It's really weird."

Ember pursed her lips, thinking how best to answer the questions without blowing Danny's identity. He loved the human world; she didn't want him to lose that freedom. It was the dark-skinned kid who answered the last one for her.

"It's not so weird for more than one family to have the same last name, Jazz, but in the same profession-really freaky."

Danny laughed. "I agree, but I can't help what my father does for a living, Tuck. We've only met just two days ago."

* * *

_"There!" Lachesis pointed. _

_"Where?" Atropos asked, rheumy eyes squinting in the darkness._

_"Her fingers are moving; she's playing with a piece of string."_

_"A piece of string is not a thread of life," Atropos said, rolling her eyes._

* * *

Sam stared down at her hands. Sure enough, the voices in her head were right.

"Sam?" Danny was staring at her now.

"Who are Khlotho, Lachesis, and Atropos?" she asked him.

"The Spinner, the Measurer, the Ender," came the automatic response.

"The Moirae," Jazz added. "I took Greek Mythology last year. That's why I know that you guys are lying."

"You're parents have a secret lab," Youngblood argued, the parrot trying to get him to hush.

Danny sighed. "It's all out in the open, then," he said, summoning the rings. "Sam's hearing the voices of the Moirae makes no sense. Since you guys insist on knowing the truth, I'm only half-ghost. Dad is Hades, god of the underworld; Mom is Persephone, goddess of spring. As the Aphanes, Sam, we have to bring you in. I'm sorry."

Ember placed on hand on the girl's shoulder. "There is a mystery here, we don't understand. All we're asking you to do is come with us; nothing more."

"What about us?" Jazz asked, indicating herself and Tucker.

"You are human," the parrot replied, as the ghost boy in front of them clamped its beak shut.

"You are human," he echoed. "Just call me Phantom. Apherephos is my formal name, but Phantom is easier in your tongue. Father, once he is apprised of the situation, may allow you to return to the upper world."

"May allow?" Tucker asked, arching an eyebrow.

"It's the Land of the Dead, dolt!" Youngblood fumed. "The Living aren't allowed there."

"That's enough," Ember told him. "Jazz, I wish we could ask your folk to help us, but they would more than likely shoot us first, than ask questions."

Jazz nodded. "If it will help Sam, I'm sure they'll understand. Let me leave them a note." She scribbled something hasty on a memo pad, then reread what she'd written.

"Okay, let's go."

* * *

_"She left a thread of life where the humans may find it!" Lachesis screamed._

_"A child was miscarried; that was an incomplete thread to begin with," Atropos replied, shaking her head. "But if it'll make you feel better..."_

_The small thread Sam had been playing with dissolved completely, not even the Fentons' most sensitive instrument would have been able to detect its signature._

_"There, all done."_

_"Thank you."_


	4. Sharp North, Declining West

Twilight's Doors

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or anything from Greek Mythology, except my own imagination.

* * *

**Sharp North, Declining West**

* * *

"We'll have to go the long way around then," Youngblood muttered, as he, Ember, and Danny phased themselves and the mortals through the walls. "The gate's closed."

"The entrance to the Underworld is inside the Nasty Burger?" Sam quipped. "I know they said fast food can kill you, but I didn't think they were serious."

"Now, we know," Jazz dead-panned.

Nervous laughter circled the group.

* * *

_"They may enter by the Bone Gate," Lachesis murmured to Atropos._

_"The Death Lands are not the place for mortals," Atropos whispered back. She picked up a pair of crystal orbs and peered through them. "But the Pearl Wood would be the ideal place. The Northern Guardian in the old churchyard may be hesitant to let them through though."_

_"Perhaps, they may yet rise to the challenge."_

_"We can only hope."_

* * *

"Sam! Sam!" Phantom's ice cold fingers finally shocked her enough to return to reality.

She shuddered at the cold touch of death. "I'm sorry," she replied. "I zoned out again."

"The voices again?" Ember asked. "You are hearing the voices of the Moirae again?"

"Yes," Sam replied. "They are saying something about a bone gate and a forest made of pearl."

"Pearl Wood," Danny said, his hand dropping to his side. "The Wood Gate is not far."

"I'm not going through that spooky old graveyard," Youngblood whimpered. "There are ghosts in there."

"You are a ghost, Ganax," the parrot muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" the child pirate challenged, gearing up for battle.

"Down boy," Ember said, wrapping one arm around his neck and pulling him away. "I think Gennaro still guards the pathway."

Youngblood's eyes lit up. "Leave Ol' Blue Eyes to me!" he exclaimed, vanishing back the way we came.

"I hate it when he does that," Tucker muttered, as Danny wrapped his arms around his and Sam's waists, while Jazz was relegated to Ember's care.

"What is the Pearl Wood?" Jazz asked Ember, as they flew to the old abandoned churchyard north of town.

"It's a part of the daylands of Hades," Ember replied, swerving to avoid a gabled roof. "It connects the Elysian Fields with my mother's sacred grove on the sacred mountain of the gods."

"Okay," Jazz replied, digesting this. "Your brother mentioned a guardian we have to get past. What kind of guardian?"

"Gennaro is a wood lion with glass blue eyes. He guards the Wood Gate-Pearl Wood's northern boundary."

"It's better than getting into a confrontation with Charon and Cerberus, Ganax," Phantom replied, shifting the humans' weight.

"Aw, all you have to do is feed him some bread and honey and have some bribe money for the ferryman, Apherephos," he replied.

"Shut it, both of you," Sam answered, as Danny set them down. "I can feel something in the air."

"Through there," Jazz pointed. "Ember told me what we're up against."

"Mind filling the rest of us in," Tucker complained, rubbing the warmth back into his neck. "You guys are ice cold."

"We're ghosts," the parrot answered. "The wood lion has our scent. The path is over there."

Everyone swivelled their heads in the direction he was pointing to with his wing. A stone wall with a wicked looking gate of ornamented ironwood rattled in the night wind.

Tucker gulped.

* * *

_"Khlotho can hear us?" Lachesis' voice rose in surprise._

_"Obviously," Atropos answered, snipping the end of the mortal's thread, as he breathed his last. "One new soul for Hades."_

_"Amen," Lachesis breathed._


	5. Rose's Touch

Twilight's Doors

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or anything from Greek Mythology, except my own imagination.

* * *

**Rose's Touch**

* * *

"Don't think I can't see you, lovely morsels," came the growling feline's voice, as they slowly approached the ironwood fence.

"Aw, put a sock in it," Youngblood retorted.

"Young prince, it has been some time, has it not?" the wood lion rose as they approached. They watched him wince in pain. "It gets worse every year. I wish the Moirae would end my pain and let me go to my rest in the Elysian Fields."

Ember cocked an eyebrow at her youngest brother. "I'm not even going to ask."

"Not going to tell you anyway," Youngblood sing-songed back. "Hey, Genarro, I brought the toll this time. Two spring roses."

"Those are roses of death!" Sam exclaimed.

Tucker and Jazz exchanged blank expressions; Danny and Ember exchanged knowing glances.

"Uh, sorry," Sam mumbled, wondering how she knew what the roses were. Something screwy was going on in her brain, that was for sure.

* * *

_"The children of Hades are ever resourceful," Atropos murmured, accepting the thick woolen thread from Lachesis' hands._

_"Yes," the Measurer agreed._

* * *

Genarro's paws trembled. "Can it be, after long last? I'm finally to be set free?" His blue glass eyes stared unblinking at the roses in Youngblood's hands. "No, you are the trickster children of Hades. This is a horrendous joke to play on an old guardian, lad."

Danny sighed and shifted his weight to the other foot. This was Youngblood's show after all, he could do nothing to interfere.

"Ganax, child, I should call the Erinyes after you," the wood lion roared.

"But you will not," Youngblood countered. "For I am not alone. Two mortals and the youngest of the Moirae are with us."

The wood lion sniffed. "Come closer, all of you."

Ember nodded and floated to the ground. She opened the gate and motioned for everyone to follow her. She grabbed Tucker, spun him around, and thrust him inside. "You're in for the long haul, buster, get used to it. The Underworld isn't a child's playground."

"And you're not too young to die, either," Danny added omniously, one green eye flickering in their direction.

Tucker whimpered, but obeyed.

Genarro breathed in their scent. "Two mortals-one smells of fear, the other of curiosity and knowledge-kit after my own kind. The Aphanes who have no scent and the youngest of the Moirae who smells of life and death."

Youngblood gave the parrot the roses, who carried them in his beak and placed them at the guardian's feet. "You are certain she is the youngest of the Moirae?"

"Yes," Genarro growled. "She smells of living flesh, but within she is still the Weaver."

Danny looked at Sam anew. "Explains a good deal now," he said. "We have to get her to Father, who will know what to do."

* * *

_"The boy is lost to Hades," Lachesis whispered._

_"Not yet," Atropos murmured, sharpening her shears. "You cannot end a life that is barely begun because he is doing the right thing. Hades will know immediately what she is and send her to us. Once we have her home, the boy will go to his fate."_

_Lachesis grinned at she looked at the great Tapestry with all its glowing strands. Running one hand on its smooth surface, she nudged a few of them back into place. "How delightful."_

* * *

Sam grimaced. "I hate these voices inside my head."

Jazz's eyes narrowed in concern. "What are they saying?"

Danny rolled his eyes.

"I can't say," Sam said, ignoring the boys. "I just can't."

"Well, delightful as it would be here to dawdle," the parrot squawked, "we have a long journey ahead of us and I, for one, don't want to be around when the Shades come out to play."

The pale light above them splayed across the path before them, skittering like a playful kitten after a ball of yarn.

"To the Elysian Fields and Mom's grove!" Ganax cried, running ahead.

Danny sighed. When they crossed the Styx on the morrow, there was going to be hell to pay from their father. He just knew it.


	6. Ferryman

Twilight's Doors

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or anything from Greek Mythology, except my own imagination.

* * *

**Ferryman**

* * *

"I will not ferry them across," the skeletal man said, leaning on his pole for support. "So long as the breath of life is in them, they may not cross."

"And we don't have Aeneas' golden bough," Sam muttered. "I think we're stuck."

Charon squinted through the mists that hovered over the shore, then began to tremble. "M-m-moirae!" he stuttered.

Danny sighed. "We're taking her to Father," he told the ancient ferryman. "The mortals are known to him as well."

"Young prince, you know your Doom is upon you, 'ere the Weaver steps foot in the Palace of Many Gates," the river boatman protested.

"So the Fates have decreed," Danny replied firmly, folding his arms. "We both know Grandmother Demeter cursed to death all the children of Hades and Persephone. Khoremne and Ganax died moments after birth. I half-died when I was a child of two when I fell into the Phlegethon. Blessedly mother had foresight to dip me into the Lethe."

"Uh," Tucker muttered, raising his hand a little. "Forgive me, Danny, for interrupting, but I'm confused."

The parrot clucked its beak. "The Phlegethon is the river of fire. Demeter, mother of Persephone, cursed any child she bore to Hades to die before it could live. Young Prince Apherephos is second-born and as a child, tripped on tree-root and a gust of wind cast him into the fiery waters. It was Queen Persephone's quick thinking of dipping him into the Lethe, the river of forgetfulness, which quenched the flames and made the boy forget he was ever burned. He still bears the memory, but not the pain. The experience also cost him half his life. Thus, he is only a half-ghost compared to his older sister and younger brother."

That satisified Tucker's curiosity, but not Jazz's. "So how are we going to get across if Charon won't take us?"

"Oh, he will," Youngblood assured them, opening his pouch. "I may not have the golden bough of Aeneas, but I do have something better."

The ancient ferryman's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when he saw the bribe. "A new thick woolen cloak from the mortal world," he whispered, reaching out to finger the woolen fibers.

"Lightfingers," Ember murmured to Youngblood, who grinned cheekily back at her.

"It's yours, if you take us across to the farther shore," Youngblood told the ferryman. "Just not to the adamantine gate. Tartarus give me the heebies."

"By rights, young thief, you should have been cast there long ago," Danny told him. "Ember's right; you are too smart for your britches."

"Where shall I set sail to?" Charon queried. He really wanted that cloak; the mists of the underworld chilled him to the bone.

"We need to get to Mother's grove by mortal nightfall," Ember answered. "Will you take us there?"

"When payment is rendered," Charon intoned, rising to his full height.

"Done," Sam heard the youngest ghost reply in agreement.

* * *

_"The child spirit is very resourceful," Atropos laughed, as she watched the scene. "And the boy knows his fate draws nigh."_

_"It is love," Lachesis answered. "He loves our Khlotho. How unusual."_

_"But the choice belongs to her," Atropos said, raising one warning finger. "She loved the youth enough to become mortal for him. We promised not to meddle."_

* * *

The parrot's explanation of Danny's half-death raised questions in Sam's mind. Didn't Greek mythology teach that the waters of the Lethe completely erased one's memories? If so, how could Danny have retained the memory of being burned, but forget the sensation thereof? What the parrot said could not be true. She glanced over at Danny, who noticed her and waved. She blushed and looked away quickly.


	7. Body and Soul

Twilight's Doors

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or anything from Greek Mythology, except my own imagination.

* * *

**Body and Soul**

* * *

"What is this place?" Jazz asked, her eyes wide with wonder. "It's so sad."

"The Fields of Mourning, young mortal," Charon said, as he drew nigh to the shore. "This is where the spirits of young lovers who died by their own hand in misery roam forever unrequited."

Jazz raised one eyebrow in surprise. "You've read Virgil's _Aeneid_?"

"I borrowed it from Hades' private library. Piece of drivel, though, Aeneas did get a few things correct about the Underworld here and there."

"Thank you, ferryman," Sam said, giving him a peck on the cheek, the last to disembark. "I really appreciate your help."

"Well, now!" Charon was heard to exclaim, as he pulled away from shore. "No one's ever done that before. Will wonders never cease?"

* * *

_In the groves of myrtle_

_Upon the plains of love's sorrow_

_Travel two mortals,_

_Flesh encloaked Fate,_

_And thy children, O Lord of Gem-Splendored Display!_

* * *

The melancholiness of the Fields of Mourning dragged at the souls of the travellers. The waning dimness of the shadow sun filtered down beneath the heavy boughs of the drooping myrtle groves. The shadows they cast were long and deep. A fork in the road brought the travellers to a halt.

Tucker shivered with fear as the sounds of wailing, screaming, and the clanking of chains rolled up from the deep valley that the left branch of the road seem to lead to. Never, he hoped, to ever set foot in that place.

"Tartarus," Ember said, following his glance. "We're going that way," she said, "to the Elysian Fields. Mother's grove is between these fields and the meadows."

* * *

_Drink from the Lethe, half-mortal child,_

_Forget the Doom that awaits,_

_Lover of the Weaving Fate._

* * *

Sam grimaced at the words in her mind. "I wish they'd just shut up," she muttered.

"Lachesis and Atropos?" Jazz asked, the names of the other two Fate goddesses coming to mind.

"What are they saying?" Danny asked, his face pale in the bluish light.

Sam repeated their words and if possible, not due to some trick of the light, Danny went even paler. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," he lied. "Let's move on...Tucker!"

Tucker, whilst they had been talking, was approaching a faint shadow that had resolved into a girl he knew from his Advanced Technology class; she had committed suicide at the beginning of the school year and no one had found out why. "Gina?" he whispered.

The shadow resolved itself in the strawberry-blond girl with braces that he remembered so well. "Tucker," she acknowledged him. "Do not come close to me. It is death for you to touch one such as I."

Youngblood's parrot perched in a myrtle tree over their heads. "She speaks the truth, young one," he told him. "A lover's suicide is forbidden contact by all."

"Why?" he asked her, green eyes flashing furiously. "There was so much life in you."

"Like you ever noticed!" she shot back. "Now leave me to suffer in silence."

The parrot tugged him back to the group. "I'm sorry," the parrot told him quietly. "It's never easy to find out this way."

* * *

_Spinner of Fate,_

_Weaver of Fate,_

_Plead with the Queen,_

_Entreat the King,_

_Mayhap the halfling child will live._


	8. Waking Souls

Twilight's Doors

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or anything from Greek Mythology, except my own imagination.

* * *

**Of Breath and Blood**

* * *

Lachesis' eyes roamed over the tapestry of fate. Running her hand over the ever-moving threads, she straightened a few snarls and tangles. "As a mortal, Khlotho has gumption."

"And hubris," Atropos added, pointing with her shears. "Move those two strands apart, Lachesis."

Lachesis did as she was asked. Atropos snipped the thread between them. "We should answer her."

"She must learn to fear the gods," Atropos argued.

"Yes, but mortals do not believe in us any longer," Lachesis said. "She loves the halfling son of Hades."

"Also the son of Persephone," Atropos said. "That should count for something towards redemption with Demeter. After all, the Earth Mother dotes on her only child."

"She hates Hades," Lachesis countered. "If Khlotho wishes to save the boy, she must be prepared to sacrifice all for him."

"Let me," Atropos said.

_Spinner of Fate,_

_Weaver of Fate,_

_To unweave the curse,_

_A price must be paid._

_Spinner of Fate,_

_Weaver of Fate,_

_Can a thread once cut,_

_Be woven anew?_

* * *

Sam's head snapped up. "I heard them," she whispered.

"I know," Danny replied, "I heard them as well."

"Well, we didn't," Tucker said, gesturing at the group. "What did they have to say?"

Danny looked at his siblings, who confirmed Tucker's reply. "Nothing?"

"Nope," Youngblood answered, "Not a thing. Sorry."

Two of the Melnic Nymphs came forward. Between them was a tall, graceful woman wearing a peach chiton and golden arm bands. She had blazing emerald eyes and luscious golden waves held back by a strand of gold thread interwoven with tiny braids.

"Okay, she looks like a Mary Sue on those stories I've read on the internet," Tucker muttered in an aside to Sam. She raised one eyebrow at him. He blushed.

"Khoremne," the woman spoke, her voice a lilting accent. "Apherephos. Ganax." Her eyes flickered to the parrot who was trying to unknot the clover woven between his ribs. "Come to me, little one."

The parrot sighed with relief as the woman who deftly undid the knots. "Ganax, you should not treat your guardian so," she told him disapprovingly.

"Sorry, mama," Youngblood told her, shooting the bird a poisonous look that spoke a promise of revenge. The parrot chuckled evilly. Apparently, this was an ongoing game between the two.

"Khoremne," Queen Persephone said, "you are turning out so lovely."

"In this age, mother, I am called Ember," Ember told her. "Ganax is Youngblood and Apherephos is Daniel; he prefers to be called Danny though."

Danny rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish expression on his face. "Hi, mom," he greeted her. "How much trouble am I in this time?"

"A lot," she said, "from what your father has said. So which girl is she?"

"Sam," he said, nodding his head in the direction of the goth girl. "And it wasn't my fault the dog got loose."

"She crossed the bridge of ivory and horn," Youngblood piped up. "Father said we had to bring her to the palace."

"Came in person to the mortal realm," Ember added.

"I see," Queen Persephone said, pursing her lips. Lifting the mortal girl's chin, she gazed for a long moment into the girl's eyes. "Khlotho!"

"Queen Persephone, may I explain. My name is Jazz, by the way. Danny's been posing as my little brother in the above world," Jazz said, then preceded to tell the whole story. When she was done, the goddess of spring laughed wholeheartedly.

"Miss Fenton, that is a most unusual story," Queen Persephone told her.

Sam hid a smile. "That just leaves the situation with the Moirae," she said.

"Yes," Queen Persephone agreed. "As my children have adopted mortal names, I will call them as such. Daniel, you must not bring the moira to the Dark Palace."

"The curse," Danny growled in understanding "I hate grandmother sometimes."

"Apherephos!"

"Sorry, sorry," he said, shifting into ghost mode. Black turned white and blue turned emerald. "Please, Mom, I don't..."

"You don't want to remember the pain from the fire," she finished for him. "The Lethe only took away the outer edges of your memory. I should have had you drink its waters instead of bathing you."

_That explains it,_ Sam thought. _No one who has been burned can ever forget the horrible sensations._

"Sam's playing with thread again," Tucker pointed out.

"Mother, why should we not take the moira to the Dark Palace?" Youngblood asked.

"The Fates decreed that should Apherephos ever consort with a moira, he would lose the other half of his life," his mother explained, "in the same way he lost his first half."

"Your half-dead?" Tucker asked.

"Duh," Jazz said, whacking him over the head.

"Ow," Tucker complained. "I was just pointing out the thread Sam is playing with came out of nowhere."

"And for the half-dead comment about Danny," she shot back. "Sam is Khlotho, the Spinner. Of course, she can call forth threads at will."

The goth girl in question, ignored all this. A most peculiar expression crossed her face. The Moirae again, was the assumption by all.


	9. Of Breath and Blood

Twilight's Doors

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or anything from Greek Mythology, except my own imagination.

* * *

**Of Breath and Blood**

* * *

Lachesis' eyes roamed over the tapestry of fate. Running her hand over the ever-moving threads, she straightened a few snarls and tangles. "As a mortal, Khlotho has gumption."

"And hubris," Atropos added, pointing with her shears. "Move those two strands apart, Lachesis."

Lachesis did as she was asked. Atropos snipped the thread between them. "We should answer her."

"She must learn to fear the gods," Atropos argued.

"Yes, but mortals do not believe in us any longer," Lachesis said. "She loves the halfling son of Hades."

"Also the son of Persephone," Atropos said. "That should count for something towards redemption with Demeter. After all, the Earth Mother dotes on her only child."

"She hates Hades," Lachesis countered. "If Khlotho wishes to save the boy, she must be prepared to sacrifice all for him."

"Let me," Atropos said.

_Spinner of Fate,_

_Weaver of Fate,_

_To unweave the curse,_

_A price must be paid._

_Spinner of Fate,_

_Weaver of Fate,_

_Can a thread once cut,_

_Be woven anew?_

* * *

Sam's head snapped up. "I heard them," she whispered.

"I know," Danny replied, "I heard them as well."

"Well, we didn't," Tucker said, gesturing at the group. "What did they have to say?"

Danny looked at his siblings, who confirmed Tucker's reply. "Nothing?"

"Nope," Youngblood answered, "Not a thing. Sorry."

Two of the Melnic Nymphs came forward. Between them was a tall, graceful woman wearing a peach chiton and golden arm bands. She had blazing emerald eyes and luscious golden waves held back by a strand of gold thread interwoven with tiny braids.

"Okay, she looks like a Mary Sue on those stories I've read on the internet," Tucker muttered in an aside to Sam. She raised one eyebrow at him. He blushed.

"Khoremne," the woman spoke, her voice a lilting accent. "Apherephos. Ganax." Her eyes flickered to the parrot who was trying to unknot the clover woven between his ribs. "Come to me, little one."

The parrot sighed with relief as the woman who deftly undid the knots. "Ganax, you should not treat your guardian so," she told him disapprovingly.

"Sorry, mama," Youngblood told her, shooting the bird a poisonous look that spoke a promise of revenge. The parrot chuckled evilly. Apparently, this was an ongoing game between the two.

"Khoremne," Queen Persephone said, "you are turning out so lovely."

"In this age, mother, I am called Ember," Ember told her. "Ganax is Youngblood and Apherephos is Daniel; he prefers to be called Danny though."

Danny rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish expression on his face. "Hi, mom," he greeted her. "How much trouble am I in this time?"

"A lot," she said, "from what your father has said. So which girl is she?"

"Sam," he said, nodding his head in the direction of the goth girl. "And it wasn't my fault the dog got loose."

"She crossed the bridge of ivory and horn," Youngblood piped up. "Father said we had to bring her to the palace."

"Came in person to the mortal realm," Ember added.

"I see," Queen Persephone said, pursing her lips. Lifting the mortal girl's chin, she gazed for a long moment into the girl's eyes. "Khlotho!"

"Queen Persephone, may I explain. My name is Jazz, by the way. Danny's been posing as my little brother in the above world," Jazz said, then preceded to tell the whole story. When she was done, the goddess of spring laughed wholeheartedly.

"Miss Fenton, that is a most unusual story," Queen Persephone told her.

Sam hid a smile. "That just leaves the situation with the Moirae," she said.

"Yes," Queen Persephone agreed. "As my children have adopted mortal names, I will call them as such. Daniel, you must not bring the moira to the Dark Palace."

"The curse," Danny growled in understanding "I hate grandmother sometimes."

"Apherephos!"

"Sorry, sorry," he said, shifting into ghost mode. Black turned white and blue turned emerald. "Please, Mom, I don't..."

"You don't want to remember the pain from the fire," she finished for him. "The Lethe only took away the outer edges of your memory. I should have had you drink its waters instead of bathing you."

_That explains it,_ Sam thought. _No one who has been burned can ever forget the horrible sensations._

"Sam's playing with thread again," Tucker pointed out.

"Mother, why should we not take the moira to the Dark Palace?" Youngblood asked.

"The Fates decreed that should Apherephos ever consort with a moira, he would lose the other half of his life," his mother explained, "in the same way he lost his first half."

"Your half-dead?" Tucker asked.

"Duh," Jazz said, whacking him over the head.

"Ow," Tucker complained. "I was just pointing out the thread Sam is playing with came out of nowhere."

"And for the half-dead comment about Danny," she shot back. "Sam is Khlotho, the Spinner. Of course, she can call forth threads at will."

The goth girl in question, ignored all this. A most peculiar expression crossed her face. The Moirae again, was the assumption by all.


	10. Word and Oath

Twilight's Doors

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or anything from Greek Mythology, except my own imagination.

* * *

**Word and Oath**

* * *

_Spinner of Fate,_

_Weaver of Fate,_

_Choose thyself_

_Or be lost to life._

_Okay, you old meddlers,_ Sam snapped back in her mind. _I am like you, a moira. I choose to be myself._

Lachesis chuckled; Atropos grimaced. Khlotho had examined the threads as well as they, to best determine the way to save the Aphanes, but one by one, they succumbed to Demeter's curse. It was Khlotho who had detected the tangle in the skein. If young Apherephos should ever cross the bridge of ivory and horn, he would perish in flame and water; his soul to forever wander the shades of the world above.

Klotho chose to incarnate herself in the modern era, the child of a prominent family in a town far from the balmy waters of the Great Sea, in a place frequented by the denizens of Hades. What Khlotho hadn't figured on doing, was falling head-over-heels for the boy.

* * *

"Queen Persephone," Sam said. "I think I how to save Danny."

Everyone turned to her.

"I'm listening," Queen Persephone said.

"My thread must be cut," Sam explained. "The years left alotted can be interwoven with Danny's. In this form, I have never spinned before, but I still possess the rudimentary knowledge."

"No," Danny firmly replied. "Absolutely not."

Jazz tapped her fingers on the ground. "Maybe the Fates can arrange to make Danny fully mortal. My parents will adopt him; I've always wanted a little brother."

"No offense, Jazz," Tucker interrupted, "but your parents are ghost hunters. If they have a child appear out of nowhere, they'll dissect him.",

Jazz's face fell. "It was worth a shot," she mumbled.

"Both plans are valid," Hades' deep voice said, as he pulled off a dented old Greek warrior's helmet. "Demeter's curse has broken apart this family. It's time the old shrew grew up."

"Hades!" Persephone exclaimed. "That's my mother you are insulting."

"I know," he answered. "Your mother is not my favorite person in the world, but with ghosts for children, I have been more their king than their father. I miss that."

"So do you have a better plan?" Sam asked.

"Give me the thread you hold," came back the reply. "I will speak with Demeter."


	11. Mortal Story

Twilight's Doors

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or anything from Greek Mythology, except my own imagination.

* * *

**Mortal Story**

* * *

"This is quite the story, Jazz," her mother said, examining the short fiction piece her daughter was planning on submitting to the school's literary magazine. "But why make Danny and Phantom the same person?"

"They are similar," came the short reply. "I thought I'd make it a modern piece and throw in some Greek mythology to sweeten the pot."

"You never did say what deal Hades made with Demeter," Maddie said, scanning the story for some hint or detail.

"Somethings even I don't know," Jazz replied, shrugging her shoulders. "All I know is that Apherephos is our Danny and I wanted him to be a half-ghost in the story. Fits in with the Underworld theme."

"But a half-ghost?" Maddie asked, looking at her in askance. "Such a thing is not possible."

"With the Fates, anything is possible," Jazz said, laughing.

"Where is your brother anyway?"

"Sam's, I believe. Cheesy horror chick flick night."

Maddie sighed. "Danny inherited that from your father," she said.

Jazz nodded.

* * *

_Spinner of Fate,_

_Weaver Fate,_

_Thy task complete,_

_Live anew._

"Moirae again?" Danny asked, munching on some popcorn.

"Yeah," Sam muttered. "I thought they were going to leave me alone from now on."

Tucker laughed. "Once a meddler, always a meddler. Danny, quit hogging the popcorn and share."

"Get your own," Danny said, tossing a kernel at him. "As a half-mortal, I get to enjoy these things now, so mine all mine!"

"Spoilsport," Tucker said, sticking his tongue out at him.

Sam closed her eyes, thoughts drifting out to her sisters.

_Sisters of Fate,_

_Weavers of Life,_

_The thread is whole,_

_Mine to know._


End file.
